After her aunt’s death, Brigitte Marchal finds herself alone in Montreal. Desperate to flee a loathsome suitor and find her long-absent, fur-trader father, she disguises herself as a young man and travels west with the voyageurs’ brigade. But her inexperience and inhibitions soon betray her secret.

René Dufour yields to the unwelcome position of shielding Brigitte, but for how long? He cannot keep her true identity a secret forever. Torn between his obligations to the North West Company and his promise to honor his family’s legacy, René is forced to make a choice: one that may prove more painful than he imagined.

As Brigitte adjusts to life in the rugged frontier, she struggles to reconcile her feelings for René with her desire to find her father. Greater still is her crisis of faith when she encounters a type of mysticism found along the shores of Lake Superior.

First Line:

Brigitte Marchal gripped the handle of her wicker basket tighter, wishing to stall, but the nun beckoned her without looking back.

Now it’s your turn! Grab the nearest book (or the book you are reading) and share the first line in the comments. Then head over to Hoarding Books and check out the linky with more First Line participants.

Here’s another First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books! It’s a fun way to share good books and spread the love of words on the page.

My publisher has been releasing some great books! A Heart for Freedom by Janet Grunst not only has a gorgeous cover, but it also promises to be a great story!

About the book:

Matthew Stewart wants only to farm, manage his rural Virginia inn, and protect his family from the tyranny of the Crown. But with tensions between the British Loyalists and Colonial Patriots mounting, he’s forced to choose sides.

While in Scotland Heather Stewart witnessed the devastation and political consequences of opposing the Crown. Now she wants only to avoid war and protect the family and peace she’s found in Virginia. When Matthew leaves for a short journey and doesn’t return, Heather begins to lose hope of seeing her husband again.

She’s seen the cost of fighting England and wants no part of it. He has a heart for freedom and is ready to die for liberty and those he loves.

First Line:

Matthew removed the three-cornered hat and wiped the sweat from his brow as he headed down the narrow alley just off King Street. Every step felt like a drumbeat accompanying Lucas Stephens’ remarks from the day before.

Now it’s your turn! Grab the nearest book (or the book you are reading) and share the first line in the comments. Then head over to Hoarding Books and check out the linky with more First Line participants.

Lighthouses have long been the symbol of salvation, warning sailors away from dangerous rocks and shallow waters.
Along the Great Lakes, America’s inland seas, lighthouses played a vital role in the growth of our nation. They shepherded settlers traveling by water to places that had no roads. These beacons of light required constant tending even in remote and often dangerous places. Brave men and women battled the elements and loneliness to keep the lights shining. Their sacrifice kept goods and immigrants moving. Seven romances set between 1883 and 1911 bring hope to these lonely keepers and love to weary hearts.

First Lines

Anna’s Tower by Pegg Thomas: The wail of a ship’s whistle jerked Anna Wilson from sleep despite the cotton wadding she’d shoved in her ears before bed.

Beneath a Michigan Moon by Candice Sue Patterson: Ava Ryan walked the shoreline of Lake Huron, enjoying the most beautiful day of the year – until she crossed paths with the devil.

Safe Haven by Rebecca Jepson: Rose Miller tried to silence her grandfather’s warning, but it kept whispering in her mind, an echo that seemed to fill her wintery world with peril.

Love’s Beacon by Carrie Fancett Pagels: Standing alone in the Island Pharmacy, Valerie’s hands shook as she removed the scrap of paper from her reticule.

The Last Memory by Kathleen Rouser: She struggled to maintain her grip on the splintered wood plank, the only thing keeping her from drowning beneath the roiling waters of Lake Huron.

The Disappearing Ship by Lena Nelson Dooley: Defeated. The word drummed through Norma Kimbell’s head as she gazed out at the pine forest rushing by the window in a blur.

The Wrong Survivor by Marily Turk: Pausing from her daily lens polishing, Lydia Palmer peered through the windows of the lantern room high above the sapphire-blue water of Lake Superior at the boat heading toward the dock below.

Now it’s your turn! Grab the nearest book (or the book you are reading) and share the first line in the comments. Then head over to Hoarding Books and check out the linky with more First Line participants.

Here’s another First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books! It’s a fun way to share good books and spread the love of words on the page.

I got a new book in the mail! Hearts Entwined, featuring novellas by Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy, Regina Jennings, and Melissa Jagers.

About the book:

Four top historical romance novelists team up in this new collection to offer stories of love and romance with a twist of humor. In Karen Witemeyer’s “The Love Knot,” Claire Nevin gets the surprise of her life awaiting her sister’s arrival by train. Mary Connealy’s “The Tangled Ties That Bind” offers the story of two former best friends who are reunited while escaping a stampede. Regina Jennings offers “Bound and Determined,” where a most unusual trip across barren Oklahoma plains is filled with adventure, romance, and . . . camels? And Melissa Jagears’ “Tied and True” entertains with a tale of two hearts from different social classes who become entwined at a cotton thread factory.

First Line

The Love Knot by Karen Witemeyer: Claire Nevin frowned at the cheerful white clouds frolicking across the blue sky and tried to close her ears against the melodies the birds insisted on singing in response to the deceptively fine morning. Ignorant creatures.

The Tangled Ties that Bind by Mary Connealy: Home. One more hour on the trail and Connor Kincaid would be home for the first time in five years.

Bound and Determined by Regina Jennings: I don’t want to die on an empty stomach.

Tied and True by Melissa Jagears: The pounding of hammers above them ceased.

Now it’s your turn! Grab the nearest book (or the book you are reading) and share the first line in the comments. Then head over to Hoarding Books and check out the linky with more First Line participants.

Y’all! I’m so behind on my 2018 Goodreads Reading Challenge. I knew I hadn’t read as much this year with all the strenuous editing of my soon-to-be-published book, but I didn’t realize how behind I was! Check out my full list HERE.

I’m not even halfway to my goal and I only have two months left!

Friends, I’m not going to make it.

I’m trying to be okay with that, as I hate not finishing a goal. But it happens.

I’m of the opinion that wallowing in guilt over not following through just keeps me tied in knots and fosters self-loathing. Well, that’s a bit extreme. I don’t hate myself, but I do disappoint myself with my lack of discipline at times.

So I choose grace over guilt.

I choose to celebrate progress instead. Let’s face it, progress on a goal means that there is forward movement. It means that I’m not stagnating! Woohoo!

So my encouragement to you is to keep moving forward. Take a step. Progress is something to celebrate.

Here’s another First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books! It’s a fun way to share good books and spread the love of words on the page.

I haven’t read any of Courtney Walsh‘s books, but I keep hearing about them and decided it was time. I’ve downloaded Just Let Go and it is next on my list to read.

About the book:

For Quinn Collins, buying the flower shop in downtown Harbor Pointe fulfills a childhood dream, but also gives her the chance to stick it to her mom, who owned the store before skipping town twenty years ago and never looking back. Completing much-needed renovations, however, while also competing for a prestigious flower competition with her mother as the head judge, soon has Quinn in over her head. Not that she’d ever ask for help.

Luckily, she may not need to. Quinn’s father and his meddling friends find the perfect solution in notorious Olympic skier Grady Benson, who had only planned on passing through the old-fashioned lakeside town. But when a heated confrontation leads to property damage, helping Quinn as a community-service sentence seems like the quickest way out—and the best way to avoid more negative press.

Quinn finds Grady reckless and entitled; he thinks she’s uptight and too regimented. Yet as the two begin to hammer and saw, Quinn sees glimpses of the vulnerability behind the bravado, and Grady learns from her passion and determination, qualities he seems to have lost along the way. But when a well-intentioned omission has devastating consequences, Grady finds himself cast out of town—and Quinn’s life—possibly forever. Forced to face the hurt holding her back, Quinn must finally let go or risk missing out on the adventure of a lifetime.

First Line

He shouldn’t be here. A diner in some little tourist town in Michigan was no place for Grady Benson, but here he was.

Okay, I had to include the second sentence. 🙂

Now it’s your turn! Grab the nearest book (or the book you are reading) and share the first line in the comments. Then head over to Hoarding Books and check out the linky with more First Line participants.

Here’s another First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books! It’s a fun way to share good books and spread the love of words on the page.

Oh, how I love Pepper Basham’s books. Whether contemporary or historical, they pull me in and don’t let go. She writes stories full of fun and laughter, and she never disappoints…especially when it comes to kissing scenes. Ooo-la-la. 🙂

Today I’m featuring Pepper Basham’s newest book When You Look At Me. You can pre-order it HERE.

About the book:

An unexpected mother-to-be
A romance-leery composer
And a forgotten melody from the past that holds the keys to their futures

When Julia Jenkins’ great aunt dies and leaves her a Victorian mansion with decades of secrets, Julia never expects to unearth a World War 2 espionage mystery. Struggling with her own past since an assault left her pregnant, her future as a solo parent leaves her dreams uncertain. The inheritance from her great aunt gives Julia the ability to take a step back into her future, but also sends her into the discovery of a love story she’d never anticipated. As she goes through her aunt’s treasured possessions, Julia uncovers some oddly written piano music with a musical code she can’t decipher on her own. Not to worry, introverted Englishman and composer, Henry Wright, is thrust on the scene by a pair of homespun matchmakers who know the ‘right’ man for Julia’s wounded heart.

Henry arrives in Pleasant Gap with the task of composing the soundtrack for his best mate’s newest film. The Jenkins’ family’s southern welcome and gregarious personalities set his reticent nature on edge, but he’s inexplicably drawn to his gentle and music-loving hostess, Julia. Uncertain how to build a friendship with the wounded woman, and rather hopeless in communicating well through words, the bond of music becomes a bridge between her uncertainty and his awkwardness.

First Line

Julia Jenkins was a glass-half-full person. Well, most of the time. Even with her sordid backstory. So she’d spent massive amounts of energy over the past few hours trying to think of all the positive aspects of her abdomen bulging overnight to show her full seven-months pregnancy. Stomach sleeping? Out. Reaching her feet without sandwiching an actual person in the middle? Impossible. Going anywhere without scouting out the restroom signs? Dangerous.

Okay, I had to include the first paragraph because it sucked me in fast.

Now it’s your turn! Grab the nearest book (or the book you are reading) and share the first line in the comments. Then head over to Hoarding Books and check out the linky with more First Line participants.